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This study focused on binary hydrogels constructed from lotus rhizome starch (LRS) and three types of carrageenan ( κ -C, ι -C, and λ -C). The enthalpy of LRS gelatinization was reduced by 32.1%-88.4% with the incorporation of carrageenan. Compared with ι -C and λ -C, the conformations of κ -C more facilitated the development of the binary hydrogel network structure. The ability of the LRS/carrageenan binary hydrogel to immobilize water was mainly related to the effect of different types of carrageenan on starch molecular ordering. LRS-based hydrogels were recognized as level 4 in the International Dysphagia Diet Standardization Initiative (IDDSI) framework. Nevertheless, the incorporation of carrageenan significantly reduced the ability of the LRS hydrogel to resist stress under large deformations, which might be favorable to oral processing and swallowing. This research provides preliminary evidence for relevant industries to use carrageenan to adjust LRS hydrogel properties and improve the quality of starch-based foods for dysphagia management., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2024 The Author(s).)

The gelation of scallop Patinopecten yessoensis male gonad hydrolysates (SMGHs) and κ -carrageenan (KC) subjected to pH (2-8, 3-9) and NaCl/KCl stimuli-response was investigated. SMGHs/KC gels subjected to a NaCl response exhibited an increasing storage modulus G 'from 2028.6 to 3418.4 Pa as the pH decreased from pH 8 to 2, with corresponding T 23 fluctuating from 966.40 to 365.64 ms . For the KCl-treated group, SMGHs/KC gels showed an even greater G ' from 4646.7 to 10996.5 Pa, with T 23 fluctuating from 622.2 to 276.98 ms as the pH decreased from 9 to 3. The improved gel strength could be ascribed to the blueshift and redshift of hydroxyl groups and amide I peaks, enhanced enthalpy and peak temperature, and gathered characteristic diffraction peaks from SMGHs, KC, NaCl, and KCl. The CLSM and cryo-SEM images further reflected that SMGHs/KC gels showed more flocculation formation and denser and more homogeneous networks with smaller pore sizes in more acidic domains, especially when subjected to the KCl response. This research gives a theoretical and methodological understanding of the construction of salt- and pH-responsive SMGHs/KC hydrogels as novel functional soft biomaterials applied in food and biological fields.

Background: Worldwide, gastric cancer (GC) is a common lethal solid malignancy with a poor prognosis. Cuproptosis is a novel type of cell death mediated by protein lipoylation and may be related to GC prognosis., Aim: To offer new insights to predict GC prognosis and provide multiple therapeutic targets related to cuproptosis-related genes (CRGs) for future therapy., Methods: We collected data from several public data portals, systematically estimated the expression level and prognostic values of CRGs in GC samples, and investigated related mechanisms using public databases and bioinformatics., Results: Our results revealed that FDX1 , LIAS , and MTF1 were differentially expressed in GC samples and exhibited important prognostic significance in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) cohort. We constructed a nomogram model for overall survival and disease-specific survival prediction and validated it via calibration plots. Mecha-nistically, immune cell infiltration and DNA methylation prominently affected the survival time of GC patients. Moreover, protein-protein interaction network, KEGG pathway and gene ontology enrichment analyses demonstrated that FDX1 , LIAS , MTF1 and related proteins play key roles in the tricarboxylic acid cycle and cuproptosis. Gene Expression Omnibus database validation showed that the expression levels of FDX1 , LIAS , and MTF1 were consistent with those in the TCGA cohort. Top 10 perturbagens has been filtered by Connectivity Map., Conclusion: In conclusion, FDX1 , LIAS , and MTF1 could serve as potential prognostic biomarkers for GC patients and provide novel targets for immunotarget therapy., Competing Interests: Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report having no relevant conflicts of interest for this article., (©The Author(s) 2023. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.)

Skin-derived precursor Schwann cells have been reported to play a protective role in the central nervous system. The neuroprotective effects of skin-derived precursor Schwann cells may be attributable to the release of growth factors that nourish host cells. In this study, we first established a cellular model of Parkinson's disease using 6-hydroxydopamine. When SH-SY5Y cells were pretreated with conditioned medium from skin-derived precursor Schwann cells, their activity was greatly increased. The addition of insulin-like growth factor-2 neutralizing antibody markedly attenuated the neuroprotective effects of skin-derived precursor Schwann cells. We also found that insulin-like growth factor-2 levels in the peripheral blood were greatly increased in patients with Parkinson's disease and in a mouse model of Parkinson's disease. Next, we pretreated cell models of Parkinson's disease with insulin-like growth factor-2 and administered insulin-like growth factor-2 intranasally to a mouse model of Parkinson's disease induced by 6-hydroxydopamine and found that the level of tyrosine hydroxylase, a marker of dopamine neurons, was markedly restored, α-synuclein aggregation decreased, and insulin-like growth factor-2 receptor down-regulation was alleviated. Finally, in vitro experiments showed that insulin-like growth factor-2 activated the phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase (PI3K)/AKT pathway. These findings suggest that the neuroprotective effects of skin-derived precursor Schwann cells on the central nervous system were achieved through insulin-like growth factor-2, and that insulin-like growth factor-2 may play a neuroprotective role through the insulin-like growth factor-2 receptor/PI3K/AKT pathway. Therefore, insulin-like growth factor-2 may be an useful target for Parkinson's disease treatment., Competing Interests: None

Background: This study aimed to identify preoperative and postoperative risk factors of venous thromboembolism (VTE) after gastrectomy in gastric cancer (GC) patients., Methods: 757 GC patients underwent gastrectomy at our institution and 246 patients with elevated postoperative D-dimer levels who received Doppler ultrasonography of lower/upper extremity veins were enrolled. Clinicopathological factors data were collected, and the differences in clinicopathological factors between postoperative VTE (+) and VTE (-) groups were analyzed. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to identify independent risk factors of postgastrectomy VTE., Results: Of 246 patients with elevated postgastrectomy D-dimer concentrations, 74 patients showed thrombosis in lower/upper extremity veins. Among preoperative factors, age, WBC level, D-dimer concentration, and blood glucose level were significantly higher in the postoperative VTE (+) group. Among the postoperative factors, hemoglobin level was significantly lower in the postoperative VTE (+) group. Among the pathological factors, tumor stage, depth of invasion and TNM classification indicated higher malignancy in the postoperative VTE (+) group. Univariate logistic regression analysis indicated age, preoperative blood glucose level, postoperative hemoglobin level, tumor stage, depth of invasion, and TNM classification as the independent risk factors for postgastrectomy VTE, whereas multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed age and tumor stage as independent risk factors for postgastrectomy VTE., Conclusion: Our study revealed that age, preoperative blood glucose level, postoperative anemia, and tumor malignancy were independent risk factors for GC patients exhibiting postgastrectomy VTE. Therefore, the perioperative monitoring, assessment and management of risk factors are important in achieving better outcomes after gastrectomy., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Asian Surgical Association and Taiwan Robotic Surgery Association. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Autophagy has been shown to play an important role in Parkinson's disease. We hypothesized that skin-derived precursor cells exhibit neuroprotective effects in Parkinson's disease through affecting autophagy. In this study, 6-hydroxydopamine-damaged SH-SY5Y cells were pretreated with a culture medium containing skin-derived precursors differentiated into Schwann cells (SKP-SCs). The results showed that the SKP-SC culture medium remarkably enhanced the activity of SH-SY5Y cells damaged by 6-hydroxydopamine, reduced excessive autophagy, increased tyrosine hydroxylase expression, reduced α-synuclein expression, reduced the autophagosome number, and activated the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. Autophagy activator rapamycin inhibited the effects of SKP-SCs, and autophagy inhibitor 3-methyladenine had the opposite effect. These findings confirm that SKP-SCs modulate the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway to inhibit autophagy, thereby exhibiting a neuroprotective effect in a cellular model of Parkinson's disease. This study was approved by the Animal Ethics Committee of Laboratory Animal Center of Nantong University (approval No. S20181009-205) on October 9, 2018., Competing Interests: None

Background: The similar visual appearance of high-risk basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) may cause confusion for diagnosis. High-frequency ultrasound (HFUS) may provide additional intralesional information and thus help to distinguish them., Method: In this retrospective study, we analyzed the clinical characteristics, HFUS grayscale, and color Doppler flow imaging (CDFI) features of pathologically confirmed high-risk BCC and cSCC lesions (n = 65 vs n = 68). Subsequently, discrimination models based on the significant HFUS features were established., Results: Between high-risk BCC and cSCC lesions, the HFUS grayscale features of the lesion size (10.0 mm vs 17.4 mm), thickness (3.1 mm vs 5.9 mm), internal hyperechoic spots (80.0% vs 23.5%), and posterior acoustic shadowing (16.9% vs 66.2%) were statistically different (all p < 0.001). As for the CDFI features, high-risk BCC lesions mainly appeared as pattern II (47.7%), while cSCC lesions mainly appeared as pattern III (66.2%). Based on the above five features, an optimal discrimination model was established with a sensitivity of 91.2%, a specificity of 87.7%, and an accuracy of 89.5%., Conclusion: HFUS features, including size, thickness, internal hyperechoic spots, posterior acoustic shadowing, and Doppler vascularity pattern, are useful for differential diagnosis between high-risk BCC and cSCC., (© 2021 The Authors. Skin Research and Technology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

To investigate the variation in the condition factor of the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus nudus ( S. nudus ), gonads were collected in May (MAY), June (JUN), and July (JUL), at the beginning (AUG-b) and end of August (AUG-e). Sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) detection of the gonads revealed an obvious enhancement of the band at about 37 kDa from July, which was identified as transforming growth factor-beta-induced protein ig-h3 (TGFBI) by nanoLC-ESI-MS/MS. Gonadal proteins were identified by isobaric tagging for relative and absolute quantitation (iTRAQ), and regulation of the identified proteins in pairs of the collected groups was observed. A total of 174 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were identified. Seven of the DEPs showed significant correlations with both the gonad index (GI) and protein content. These correlations included 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase, decarboxylating isoform X2 (6PGD), CAD protein, myoferlin isoform X8, ribosomal protein L36 (RL36), isocitrate dehydrogenase [NADP], mitochondrial isoform X2 (IDH), multifunctional protein ADE2 isoform X3, sperm-activating peptides (SAPs) and aldehyde dehydrogenase, and mitochondrial (ALDH). However, TGFBI had no correlation with gonad index (GI) or protein content. 6PGD, IDH, multifunctional protein ADE2 isoform X3, and ALDH were shown to interact with each other and might play key roles in changing the condition factor of S. nudus gonads.

Background: Renal osteodystrophy has caused increased risk of fragility fracture in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients. However, risk factors and outcome of ESRD patients with fragility fracture remain uncharacterized. We aimed to assess these parameters in ESRD patients., Summary: This retrospective case-control study analyzed 354 ESRD patients (initial fragility fracture [FF] group, n = 59; control group, n = 295). Pre-dialysis blood hemoglobin, serum albumin, lipid, calcium, phosphorus, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH) were collected. All procedures performed involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional committee of The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University (IRB approval number 216-82), and informed consent was obtained from all participants. There were higher prevalence rates of primary hypertension and diabetes, higher serum ALP, corrected calcium, and lower serum total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein, lipoprotein-α, and iPTH in the FF group. Fractures were more likely to occur in the higher level of corrected calcium as well as in the lower iPTH group. High corrected calcium ( p = 0.010, OR = 11.308, 95% CI: 1.770-72.242) and serum ALP ( p = 0.000, OR = 1.007, 95% CI: 1.004-1.011) were independent risk factors of fragility fracture. The incidence of all-cause mortality and cardiovascular (CV) events in ESRD patients with fragility fracture was higher than in those without fracture., Key Messages: Patients with hypertension, diabetes, excessive suppression of PTH, and poor nutritional status are more prone to fractures. Serum corrected calcium and ALP were independent risk factors of fragility fracture. Patients with initial fragility fracture had more CV events and higher mortality.

The proteolysis in muscle tissues of sea cucumber Stichopus japonicus (sjMTs) was characterized. The proteins from sjMTs were primarily myosin heavy chains (MHCs), paramyosin (Pm), and actin (Ac) having a molecular mass of approximately 200, 98, and 42 kDa, respectively. Based on SDS-PAGE analysis and quantification of trichloroacetic acid (TCA)-soluble peptides released, degradation of muscle proteins from sjMTs was favorable at pH 5 and 50°C. Proteolysis of MHCs was mostly inhibited by cysteine protease inhibitors, including trans -epoxysuccinyl-L-leucyl-amido (4-guanidino) butane (E-64) and antipain (AP). E-64 and AP completely inhibited the degradation of Pm and Ac, while iodoacetic acid showed a partially inhibitory effect. These results indicated that the proteolysis of sjMTs was mainly attributed to cysteine proteases. Avoidance of setting the tissues at 40-50°C and slightly acidic condition and inhibition of cysteine proteases are helpful for decreasing sea cucumber autolysis.

Renal angiomyolipoma is a type of benign tumor that occurs sporadically in addition to being associated with tuberous sclerosis. Preoperative embolization of large tumors is important to avoid excessive blood loss during surgery. We reported a patient with a 5505-g giant renal angiomyolipoma in a solitary kidney. The patient was treated with preoperative embolization and radical nephrectomy without complications. This type of treatment for an enormous angiomyolipoma can reduce the risk of uncontrolled hemorrhage caused by rupture of the tumor during the operation and should be considered for the treatment of similar tumors.